Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Living Sewage Treatment Plant
A Living Sewage Treatment Plant
ThesePeopleGrewOne
Everyflushofastandardtoiletcreatesaseveralgallonproblem.Insteadofwastingwater,plantsand
animalscantransformhumanwasteintowaterratedpureenoughtodrink.
PhotofromYLINPHOTO/iStock.
ClaudiaRowe postedJan03,2013
InalargegreenhousetwohoursnorthofNewYorkCity,bananatrees,flowers,andothertropicalplantsgrowamid
frogs,fish,andburblingwaters.Outside,bullrushesandcattailswaveintheHudsonValleybreeze.Eachyear,more
than20,000peopletraveltotheOmegaInstituteforHolisticStudiesforyogaretreats,wellnessworkshops,and
conferencesonhowtolivesimpler,cleaner,better.
Andeachyear,theystopintheirtracks,stunnedtolearnthatthoselushgardensareactuallysewagetreatment
plantsatwork.AtOmega,plants,animals,andmicroorganismsannuallytransform5milliongallonsofhuman
feces,urine,andotherwasteintowaterratedpureenoughtodrink(thoughOmegausesitforirrigation).
Itlookslikeitcameoutofyourkitchenfaucettheresnoodor,itsperfectlyclear,saysOmegasCEOSkip
Backus.Itsreallysortofalifechangerforpeople.
Since2009,whenOmegasleadersdiscoveredthattheir50yearoldsepticsystemwasfallingapart,theforward
thinkinginstitutehasbeenattheforefrontofaslowlygrowinginternationalmovementbuiltontheideathat
conventionalsewagetreatmentdependentonwaterandenergywastingtechnologyisunsustainable.Tobe
blunt,therearebetterwaystohandleourshit.
AtOmega,theresultisa4,500squarefootsolarpoweredgreenhousefedbyasystemoftanks,lagoons,andsand
filtersthatprocessupto52,000gallonsofhumanwasteaday.WhenitenterstheEcoMachineTMthestuffisasrank
andnastyasyoudimagine.
Wegivepeopletourswewantthemtoseethestinkybrownstartoftheprocess,andthentheconstructed
wetlands,thereeds,brush,cattails,saysBackus.Attheend,theresthissenseofaweandwonder.Theysay,
Really,thisismywastefromlastnight?Andwetellthem,yeah.
IncommunitiesfromupstateNewYorktoOhio,MinnesotatoHawaii,anetworkof
scientists,architects,andengineershasbeenrethinkingthewayweprocessourwaste
becausetheneedisextreme.JasonMcLennan,anarchitect,chiefexecutiveofthe
CascadiaGreenBuildingCouncil,andoneofYES!MagazinesBreakthrough
15,pointsoutthatinsteadoftakingourcuesfromnaturewhichprocesseswasteon
thespotandrecyclesthenutrientseveryflushofastandardtoilettakesaseveralounce
problemandturnsitintoaseveralgallonproblembyaddingcleanwatertofecesand
transportingthewholemesstotreatmentfacilitiesviaaByzantinenetworkofaging
Clickheretosubscribe sewers.
toYES!Magazine.
Thissystemisnothinglessthaninsane,McLennanwritesinFlushingOutdated
Thinking,hismanifestoforchange.
Meanwhile,untreatedeffluent,pharmaceuticaldrugs,andwhateverelseweflushleachesfromour600,000mile
mazeofpipesintorivers,farmfields,and,yes,tapwater.AnAssociatedPressstudyfrom2008foundtracesof
prescriptiondrugsincludingantibiotics,anticonvulsants,moodstabilizers,andsexhormonesinthedrinking
waterof41millionAmericans.TheEnvironmentalProtectionAgencyestimatesthat,withinthenexteightyears,
Americasdeterioratingsewagesystemcouldcost$82.6billiontofix.
Finally,ourtreatedwasteisdumped,renderinguselesssuchelementswithinitasnitrogenandphosphorus,which
couldbevaluableasfertilizers.
PerhapsthemostintriguingcharacteristicofananswerlikeOmegasisitsrudimentarytechnologyifyoucan
evencallitthat.Inlivingmachines,bugs,plants,andbacteriabreakdownexcrementsimilartothewaynature
handlesanimaldroppingsinthewild.Compostingtoilets,too,mimicnaturalprocessesbycoveringthefeceswith
sawdustandlettingmicrobesdigestthemixture,producingenoughheattoneutralizepathogens.
Butcombinethewordfeceswithcompostingandeventhemostprogressivethinkersarelikelytoblanch.
DescribethekindofecomachineinuseatOmega,andriskbeingtarredasastinky,starryeyeddreamer.
Thisisaculturalthing.Peoplehavebeentaughtthattheirfecesaresomethingevilanddreadful,sighsGene
Logsdon,authorofHolyShit,abookonrethinkingourhandlingofwaste,bothhumanandanimal.Foryears,shit
hasbeenseenassomethingsorepugnantthattheworditselfwasscrubbedfrompoliteconversation.
Logsdon,aplainspokenOhioanwhospentmostofhislifeasafarmer,insists,however,thatthereisgoldinfeces,
andheisnotonetomincewords.Citiesandvillageshavebeenputtinghumanwastenotevenallthatwell
treatedonfarmlandforcenturies,hesaid.Youdonthearanyonetalkaboutitorsuburbaniteswouldlosetheir
minds.Butitscommonlydone.Theytakeitoutintrucksitsaliquidandspreaditonfarmsoilthatsgoingto
beplantedwithcornorwheat.
InCalifornia,Logsdonwrites,halfofthestatesannualhaulofdriedsludgesome375,000tonsisappliedtothe
land.Forhim,practicalitytrumpsall,andthesoaringcostofchemicalfertilizermakesitsownargumentfor
composting.
Togetasenseofscale,considerthattheaveragehouseholdflushesabout160gallonsofwatertohandlethree
poundsofpoopandagallonofurineeachday.Anequationthatimbalancedstrikeseventhemostconventional
thinkersashopelesslyinefficient.
ItsabsolutelyinsanetheamountofwaterweusetoflushtoiletsintheU.S.,saysformerNavalofficerTodd
Foret,whoisworkingwiththeU.S.DepartmentofAgriculturetoreclaimwastewaterforirrigation.Itssad.We
comminglesupercontaminatedstuffwithgreywaterfromyourdishwasherandshowerthatseasytotreat.Itsjust
crazy.
Likewhatyourereading?YES!isnonprofitandreliesonreadersupport.
Clickheretochipin$5ormoretohelpuskeeptheinspirationcoming.
MarkBuehrer,acivilengineerbasedinBellingham,Wash.,issodeepintothefieldthathedoesntevenliketouse
thewordwaste.Thereisnosuchthing,hesays.Ilookathumanwasteas,really,aresource.Wecantjust
keepflushingournutrientsintotheoceansandrivers.
Truebelieverscantalkeventhemostsqueamishpasttheirmisgivings.Therealbattlegroundispolitics,wherea
tangleofregulationsdesignedtokeepushealthythwarteventhemostingeniousinventors.
Still,theremayberoomfornewthinking.WashingtonstateRepresentativeKevinRanker(DOrcasIsland)asked
Buehrertohelpdraftlegislationthatwouldloosencompostingregulations.AhousingdevelopmentinVancouver,
B.C.,usessewagetogenerateheatfor26,000homes.ANorwegianfirmhasinventedacompostingtoiletthat
capturesmethaneforcooking.
PhotoEssay:InsidetheOmegaInstitute
Allwellandgoodasanexperiment,perhaps,oroutinthecountry.Buthowpracticaliscompostingforcity
dwellers?
ThatquestionledSeattlesBertschiSchooltoinstallavacuumpoweredcompostingtoiletinitsnewsciencewing.
Similartoanairplanecommode,theEnviroletwhiskswasteintoaheatedchamberwherebacteriaattackthefeces.
Someparentswereintrigued,saidStanRichardson,directoroftechnologyandcampusplanningattheprivate
school.Othersthoughtwewerecrazy.
Resultsafterthefirstyearhavebeenmixed.Thetoiletdemandsregularmaintenance,ispronetoclogging,and
requires1,100wattsofenergytorun.Butwhengreenertoiletsdoshrinkcosts,conservewater,andsafelyreplenish
soil,soonerorlaterotherargumentsfallaway.
Mainstreamdeveloperscomeintoouroffice,andIknowtheyrenotheretosavetheenvironment,saysBuehrer
inhissoftspokenway.Thatsfine.Nowthatweveshownthatwecandothesedesignsbetter,atlowercost,they
canraisetheirgreenflagforthat.
Interested?
Canaboatbedesignedtocleanthewater?Howdoesaspidermanufactureresilientfiber?Weneedproducts
thatdontharmusortheenvironment,andnaturesalreadydonetheresearch.
Leftalone,naturalsystemskeepnitrogen,carbon,andotherkeyingredientsoflifebalanced.
Today,atatimeofmultiplecrises,weneedtomoveawayfromthinkingofnatureasdeadmattertovaluing
herbiodiversity,cleanwater,andseeds.Forthis,natureherselfisthebestteacher.